Silvis, Ill. – Brian Harman leads the John Deere Classic heading into Sunday's final round, but you-know-who is lurking over his shoulder.

Three-time Deere winner Steve Stricker birdied the final two holes to shoot a 7-under 64 at TPC Deere Run and is at 16 under par, one back of Harman. The leader had two eagles in a third-round 65. But Harman bogeyed the final hole to see his lead sliced in half.

Stricker's track record at Deere Run puts him in the favorite's role.

"I'm not going to go to that first tee and think that I've won here three times and this tournament's mine," said Stricker, 47, a 12-time winner on the PGA Tour. "I'm not thinking that at all."

Scott Brown, who started the day tied for 25th, is now alone in third at 198 after shooting 61. Four more players are tied for fourth at 199, including Iowa native and 2012 Deere champion Zach Johnson.

Johnson started the round tied for the lead with William McGirt, but missed good birdie opportunities on the first three holes and never found any serious momentum while shooting 69.

"A lot of blah golf," said Johnson, who has now shot 23 consecutive rounds in the 60s at the Deere. "I'm not out of it. I need the putter to heat up. I need some birdies early to get some momentum going. If I get off to a good start, you never know what can happen."

This Deere has a similar feel to 2012. Stricker, trying to win a fourth straight title that year, went off in the last pairing with Troy Matteson for the final round. Johnson and Harman were in the second-to-last group. Harman, who has never finished better than third in a PGA Tour event, slumped to a final-round 73 and tied for 19th. Stricker shot 70 and tied for fifth. Johnson beat Matteson on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff.

"I got to watch Zach win this golf tournament," Harman said. "I was right there, and I felt like I was playing well enough to win a couple years ago, it just didn't happen. Every experience you have like that is something you can draw on, for sure."

Harman, trying to become the Deere's first southpaw winner since Sam Adams in 1973, will be in the final pairing for the first time in his career.

Stricker feels at home on the greens at Deere Run, and this week is status quo. Stricker needed just 27 putts in his round Saturday and has used just 76 of his 197 strokes on the green.

"I have good feelings when I step up to the putts here," Stricker said. "I don't know what it is. I see the line very well here. I just seem to roll the ball well. Hopefully, knock on wood, we can do it one more day."

Brown, Jhonattan Vegas and Daniel Summerhays were in the day's most entertaining pairing. Brown shot 61, Vegas 63 and Summerhays 65, a combined 24 under par. Their collective best-ball score was a 55.

Summerhays had two eagles in the first two five holes, at the par-5 2nd and par-4 5th, when his second shot kicked off the skirting of the bleachers over the green, bounced through the rough and, remarkably, ended up in the hole.

"It reminded me of the old Michael Jordan and Larry Bird commercials, off the rafters, off the backboard, nothing but net, you know?" Summerhays said. "It was out of the rough, sidehill lie, under the tree, pulled hook off the net through the rough, down the hill and in. Nothing but net."